The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Rural Drug Addiction Research Center helps science and medicine collaborate to address the causes, prevention and treatment of substance use and misuse "from synapse to society." Until recently most information about substance abuse and misuse came from large urban centers, yet the issues affect every region of the U.S. The center tackles this critical public health challenge by combining a variety of disciplines and fields, including neuroscience, epidemiology, psychology and sociology. (Updated March 2025.)
Rick Bevins
faculty
Professor
Psychology
Director, Rural Drug Addiction Research Center
Psychology
Bio
Rick Bevins is the director of the Rural Drug Addiction Research Center and a principal investigator of the behavioral neuropharmacology lab at UNL. Dr. Bevins' research program bridges areas of neuroscience, pharmacology, animal learning and behavior, and biopsychology. He uses preclinical animal models to understand the behavioral, neural, and pharmacological factors contributing to drug use and misuse liability including nicotine, methamphetamine, and opioids. (Updated March 2025.)